Machinery for -operating- frictiojkt-brakes fob



JOHN L. GLARKE, -OF NASH-UA, HAMPSHIRE.

MACHINERY FOR 'OPERATING FRICTIGN-BRAKES FOR RAILROAD-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 1,548, dated April l1, 1,840.

To all whom i may concern: v

Be it known that I, JOHN L. CLARKE, of Nashua, New Hampshire, Ahave invented new and useful improvements of machinery to be applied to the friction-brakes 'of railwaycarriages in order to produce .a more effect-ual action of the same on the peripheries of the wheels, so as to retard the revolutions of said wheels and thereby reduce the velocity of a `car -or a train of cars or entirely stop their motions in .a much shorter period of time and in a'much less distance of `track than by any machinery heretofore used.

The said improvements, the principles thereof, and manner in which I have contemplated the application of the same by which they may be distinguished from other inventions of a like character .and purpose, together with such parts -or combinations I claim as my inventi-on and consider original and new, I have herein described and set forth. The said descriptiont-aken in connection with the accompanying drawings herein referred to, forms my specification` Figure 1, is a vert-ical and longitudinal section of a train of two cars and a tender of a` locomotive. Fig. 2, is a plan or top view of the same, the coach or wagon bodies not be- 'i ing represented in the figures on account of more completely exhibiting some of the important features of my invention, whichV resented in the drawings or otherwise suitwhose velocity when moving along the railway may be retarded or diminished by the friction brakes B, B, C, C, D, D, which are operated or pressed against their circumferences by my improved machinery with a greater or less force according to circum f raised upward by the levers Z e f, the

stances which will be hereafter explained.

The brakes B B, C C, are each suspended i at the top a (see Fig. l) so as to vibrate with a slight pendulous motion. They are pressed outward or against the wheels by the progressive levers or toggle joints b 7), c c,

one end of each of which, is connected by a D. The other lextremity lis connected by a suitable joint to the lower links of a series of progressive levers lor toggles g la, z' d, 7c l7c, &c., arranged .as seen in the drawings or otherwise suitably placed, the upper extremities of the upper links g, c', being attached by a .suitable joint to the fix-ed transverse beam E, Figs. l and 2.

Long metallic rods F, Gr, H, I, K, L, properly supported in bearings so as -to be moved to and fro longitudinal-ly, pass through suitable openings in the central joints of the progressive levers g h, z' i, -c 7c, and have abutting heads Z, m, a, 0', p, placed on their extremities. Shoulders or -collars s, t, u, e, are fixed lon the rods H, I, K, L, (as seen in Fig. l.) Now itwill be observed that when either of the above rods I-I, I or K, L, are moved in a longitudinal direction, either to the right or left, the shoulders s, yt, u, fv, will .be brought against the center joint of the progressive levers z' i, 7c is, and cause these levers to close together, thereby depressing the extremity f of the lever d, e, j, and of course. raising at the same time, the other end al, Iand cross beam D, and through the intervention vof the side toggles b l), c c, the brakes C C will be pressed outward or against the peripheries of the wheels. When this action ceases the brakes are thrown off the wheels by springs a2 b2 applied as replably arranged. In the second car, the brakes lare represented as constructed -in a somewhat different manner from those of the first car and tender, they being solid pieces of wood or other proper material M, M, whose sides are curved to the radii of the wheels as represented in the drawings. They are attached to`the beams D, and when these beams are curved sides of the blocks M M, are brought up against the peripheries of the wheels and friction thereby produced on the same.

If friction is applied to the wheels of the tender to retard its velocity, (when a train of cars is in motion on a railway) the momentum of the rear cars, will cause the buffers of the whole train to come in Contact or be brought together. ting head Z of the rod F Gr, projects beyond the buffers of the tender as seen in Fig. 1, it will meet the opposite abutting head m of the rod I-I I, as the car is driven forward by its momentum. The consequence will be that the rod I-I I, will recede or be moved.

Now if the abutltion of H I.

back and thereby, by the operation herein before described, the brakes of the `first car will be pressed against the peripheries of its wheels, with a force proportioned toits momentum. And so with the second and all the other cars or carriages of the train; for the rod F G, communicates a backward ino tion to t-he rod K L, throughV the intervenrlhus it will be seen that the engineer standing on the tender has command of the whole train; whereas by the method heretofore pract-ised of managing `the brakes of a series of cars, several brakemen have been required, whose united strength applied to the levers, was the only force relied on to restrain the velocity. In my invention I employ the momentum of the several ears, and so effectual extensive and su perior is the force generated, that the wheels may be so firmly locked as to stop a train in a very slnall distance of track, in proportion to that required, where the usual method of applying friction has been practised.

In order to retard the velocity Vof a tender I use the ordinary machinery as applied lto the brakes. rThis is seen in Figs. l and 2, where a lever w ai y whose fulcrum is at m is connected at its end y to the cross beam D. Its other end is depressed by the lire man or engineer placing his foot and treading on the step Z thereto connected. The brake lever` generally used, should always be applied to the car directly in the rear of the tender, on the Vtop of which I suppose the baggage master to be seated who shall have the same under his control. Said levers should be attached to the rod H I, so'that by applying the hand or foot on its top, lthe rod'H I, may be pressed outward and thus cause the friction brakes to act on the wheels. It is often the case,'that when the train arrives near the depot, the engine and tender are detached from the cars, and proceed onward, with such an increasedV velocity as to pass out of the main track upon a lateral branchere the` cars in the rear, can reach the switch; which switch is immediately turned back so.that the train, moving under the momentum genn erated therein, shall pass on to its point of destination. Thusit will be seen that if the first carriage of the train is retarded by the baggage master, heretofore mentioned as on the same, the momentum of the rear car riages acts on the rodv H I, K L, forcing them back, and of course causing the brakes of the whole `train to act by its momentum.

lVhen it is desirable to give the train a retrograde movement on theV railway, the rod F Gr should be drawn back, so that its abutting head Z shall be brought into a position even with the face of the buffers. Therefore the abutting heads-Z m do not come in contact before the Vbuffers meet together, and consequently no friction is produced to retard the retrograde motion of the train.

The machinery for throwing the rod F G forward, and drawing it. back, is thus described: A hand lever c d (Fig. l) moving on a fulcrum o is connected to another lever e f g', Fig. 2, by means of an inter- The lever e f g is'supported by and moves on a fixed fulcrum f.` Its end g isforked and clasps the rod F G between two shoulders or collars h. z', (Figs. 1 and 2),. `Therefore by applyingthe hand with sufficient forceV to the top of the lever bcd" to pull it back- `ward, the rod F Gr is` drawn-back, until the side of the collar 7c comes in Contact with the side of the cross. rail-N` (Figs. l and 2).

l.The lever b 0f d. is fastened at its upper endy or abuts against a projection a4 so that no pressure acting upon the rod F Gat the end `Gr can thrust it back, and the distance m n at which the collar 7Jl shall be beyond the face or side of the rail N, or the distance to which the rod must 'be projected and there secured, when itl is desiredto stop the car, should be such, as will place the toggles nearly' in a vertical linewth each other. We will now suppose the rodF -G to be thrown back so that `the` collar 7c shall rest against t-he side of the cross rail N, or so that the top b of the lever b 0 CZ shall be in the position denoted by the red dotted klines in (Fig. l), and that the train is in rapid` Imotionon the railway. The rod F G, has a standard 0 afiiXed or `fastenedthereon as seen in Fig. 3. One extremity of a dog or catch 29 g is hinged to the top of the stand- :ard o the other end is forked, as represented in Fig. 5, and clasps the toggle g, andis` bent downward at right angles as seen in the drawings at Figs. l and 3. When the brake apparatus is not in use, the dog 79 g is seen in the position represented in.Fig. 3.

A rectangular collar 1 is placed on the rod F Gr, Fig. 3, the rod passing and moving freely through its vertical sides s t and the upper toggle g passes through the slot Iu (Fig. 4) forward on its top. Now suppose, as we have heretofore mentioned, the cars to bein rapid motion, and all things as above, ifrwe wish to retard the train without causing the rod F G of the tender to Y act on the brakes of its wheels (through the intervention of the toggles g il. and the `dog or catch p QQ) we press forward the top l/ of the lever b c al until it comes into the position'A denoted by the black dotted lines Fig. l, `when the rod F G, and catch or dog p g will be carried forward, and the lat-ter willrest on the top of the rectangular collar r as exhibited by the black dotted representation of said catch in Fig. l, in which case now forl clearer illustration we will sup- A pose the dog p" g and toggles g z., with their machinery connecting them to the brakes B B, to be entirely removed as itwill be seen that the same is not necessary to be used, only in cases where we wish to employ the momentum of the cars to act on the brakes of the tender in` conjunction with the force applied by the fireman. Therefore should we not desire to employ the momentum to retard the wheels of the tender, we can dispense with the dog or catch 79 g toggles g, ZL, and otherapparatus immediately incident thereto,kand employ only the rod F G and levers b c CZ, e f g to operate said rod. Zhen the lever b c Z is in the position denoted by the black dotted lines, Fig. l, it is sprung over a stop or standard a* and abutting against the same is thereby so confined in this position that no force, tending to drive the rod F Gr back, can change the position of the lever. Now by shutting off the steam and applying the foot brakes to the tender, the abutting head Z being in position to come in contact with the abutting head m of the rod 4H I, it will be evident that when the first car comes up, the abutting head m of its rod I-I I will come in contact with the projected abutting` head Z o-f the tender (the velocity of the tender now being retarded) and will be forced back and thereby apply the brakes of the first car to its wheels. Thus as the rod H I is driven forward the abutting head n is now projected as was the case with the abutting head Z of the tender, and is in position te, and will, operate in the same manner on the rod of the second car, as the said car comes up by its momentum. So on in succession throughout the train of cars the same result is produced on each car.

New if it is desired to cause the rod F G,

of the tender to act on the brakes B B, of its wheels, through the intervention of its toggles g Z1, and the dog or catch p g, so as to employ the momentum of the cars to act on the brakes of the tender in conjunction with the force applied by the fireman, we simply move the lever b c Z forward, until the right angular end Q of the dog or catch 29 g drops down over the end t of the rectangular collar r, as seen in Fig. l, and consequently locks or connects the toggies g 7L with the rod F Gr, so that when the rod F G is forced back, the right-angular ends of the dog p g bear against the end t of the rectangular collar 7" said collar if moving freely on the rod F G only when the toggles and ro-d are not in connecticn. The said collar r', resting against the central joint of the toggles, carries back said toggles or brings them nearly in a straight line with each other, when the rod F G recedes; thus causing them to act on the brakes of the tender. It will be seen that when the abutting heads Z m come in con` tact, the lever b c 'CZ moves back until it comes into the position denoted by the black dotted lines, (Fig. 1,) where it abuts against the stop at and remains fixed and brings the abutting head Z into the same position that it should have, when we simply wish to employ the momentum of the cars to their brakes, without using the catch p g to lock or connect the rod F G With the brakes of the tender, as hereinabove described. l/Vhen we employ the rod F G to act on the brakes of the tender, it is evident that its abutting head Z must be thrown outward to a greater distance than it is, when used only to operate on the rods H I, K L, etc., of the cars in the rear and the distance to which the abutting head Z must be pressed forward, will be regulated by the angle which the toggles g it make with each other, for the lever Z9 c Z cannot recede farther than the stop a4 consequently the abutting head Z will now be out (as it will always be necessary that it sho-nld be) the same distance as when the momentum of the cars was not emplo-yeti to arrest the progress of the tender.

The lever ZJ c eZ should be so 'constructed that by applying a force to it, sidewise, it may be' easily sprung, so as to pass by the stop a* and be brought into'the position denoted by the red dotted lines Fig. l. Vhen we do not wish to employ the momentum of the cars to assist in arresting the progress of the tender, the lever c Z should always be brought from the position denoted by the red dotted lines, to that represented by the black dotted lines, in which case the dog or catch 29 g is represented as by the black dotted lines Fig. l.

A stop or collar a5 (Figs. l and 3) is firmly fixed on and moves with the rod F Gr, so that when the dog or catch p g moves forward in order to drop downward and connect the toggles with the rod F G, this collar will meet the side s of the collar r and press the collar r forward if the toggles should be out of their true position.

The catch p g has a reversed inclined plane or cam o on its underside. l/Vhen the lever Z2 c cZ is changed from the position of the black dotted lines to thev red dotted lines or when the dog p g is drawn back, the said plane meets and rises upon a pin wf, Fig. 3, thereby lifting the catch upward so as to unlock the connection ofthe toggles and rod F G whenever the necessity of applying the friction of all the brakes ceases. Therefore the leading principle of my invention is the application of the momentum of moving cars in such a manner as to arrest their progress almost instantly and without occasioning any shock to be felt by the passengers, as is the case under the different modes heretofore practised of applying the machinery of brakes; for as the cars areconnected by chains, when the brake is applied to the forward car the next in the rear immediately comes up with a smart shock and so on throughout the series.

In my arrangement it will be seen, that by the abutting heads of the Vrods F Gr, H I, K L, meeting each other successively before the buffers can come in contact, the shock of buffers is consequently prevented.

There will be of necessity some little variety in the application of my machinery to cars of different construction but. all this will be readily understood by carriage builders, and being secondary and notconnected with the main features of my invention requires no further remarks on my part.

Among t-lie advantages secured by my `invention the following Vmay be suggested.`

First, as regards the interest of railroad corpo-rations Y Economy 0f empcndnrcs-The services of brakenien are safely and altogetherl dispensed with, the baggage master being competent to do all that is required, both on the ourney and also at the .end of the same, when the tender and engine are detached. From the nature of the case it is scarcely among possibilities that brakemen will be ready at all times,V when it is of the utmost importance to stop the cars yas speedily as possible, as in the event of an unexpected obstacle .on the railway or the approach of a train of cars in an opposite direction'or the breaking of a wheel. From these causes, Y

and the generally insufficient supply of brakemen (for economys sake) very serious injuries have occurred to railroad property. By the use of my invention a train o-f cars of any length might be almost entirely stopped before a signal could be passed from the engineer to the brakeman that danger was ahead, as it is very generally known that they are not for the most part` of the time in a situation to apply the brakes immediately, as they apprehend-no danger and ever act upon the presumptio-n that all is well, and especially is it so in cold-weather when their own comfort is solely consulted.V The danger of damage to property on freight trains is in a very great degreeremoved, as upon these. few if any brakeinenv 'are employed, and experience shows, that it is extremely difficult to arrest the progress of a freight train even with the assistance of one brakeman in addition to the tender brakes, so that if any obstacle, dangerous tor be encountered, is seen soon enough to prevent a. concussion by the use of'my iiivention, it could not possibly be avoided under the present system. Again, iii the event of breaking a wheel the advantage wouldbe in the same proportion. Railroad corporations.

fromthese causes have suHei-ed by the loss of their own property, and have been compelled to'pay severely to the owners of property conveyed by theni'and injured-in the transportation. And on passenger `trains it is by no means uncommon that heavy damages have been recovered by persons injured by the meeting of trains coming inl opposite directions, and occasioned by the want of brakenien, or their neglect to attend `to their duties. ,z i

' Economy of ima-As generally practised the velocity of cars is very much diminished,

, place of shutting off the steam, bythe brakeinens presumed attention to their dutiesand it consequently happens not unfre- `quently that the cars `are not seasonably stopped on account of their neglect in this behalf. 1 I" i Economy touching their l'nc0mc.-The rfear of riding so fast, as cars generally move, prevents many from y improving railroad conveyances, and for the reason of a supposed impossibility to stop the cars soon enough, going at a rate so rapid, (and the rapidity. of railroad traveling among this class is greatly overrated) in case `of obstacles. It is believed that my method would create a greater and highly benecial confidence iii this mode of traveling,.and consequently increase Vthe income and especially so on roads where there are inclined planes.

As, by this process, in ascending, the baggage master could ride upon the near car and in case the mainrope should part, he c ould prevent accident;` and in descending he could ride 'upon the iirst car with the like benefit.

ls t regards the publia- The great end secured by my methodis safety and in this behalf the public` are interested, and every item going to this fend will be called for by the public and must be adopted by those who live by the support of the public. When the train of cars is movingat afvery slow rate, or should the buffers be in contact with each other,`the brakes may be caused to act by A force` properly applied to the 4lesser b c d, which (as the abutting heads of all the Vrods FG, H I, K L, are in 'this case in contact) will press back all the rods and thereforecausefthe brakes throughout the train toact on the wheels.V 5 A Having thus described `the nature of my improvements I shall now proceed to specifically point out suchparts thereof. as I claim as my invention.

l. Iclaiin `arresting or retarding the progress of,cai-s lwhile in mo-tion on a railway by acoinbination of rods F G, H I, K L, connected with the friction brakes by the intervention of the toggles or progressive levers g, 71 z' Vz', c 7s, leverv Z e 7, transverse beam Dor other suitablefmachinery, the whole arranged and operating, by the momentum, or power applied to the lever b c el', substantially in the manner and on the principles herein above described and represented in the diierent drawings.

2. I claim the method of connecting the rod F G and toggles g, z, by means of the combination of machinery consisting of the dog or catch p g attached to the rod F Gr, piece of metal 1 shaped and arranged togetlier and acting in connection with the levers o d', e f" g substantially as above described7 for the purpose of operating the brakes of the tenders by the momentum of the cars, Whenever the same may be necessary or desirable.

In testimony that the above is a true description of my said invention and improvement I have hereto set my signature this sixteenth day of March in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and forty.

JOHN L. CLARKE.

Witnesses R. I-I. EDDY,

LINCOLN2 Jrv 

